Anti-Immigrant Group Attacks TPS for Haitian Immigrants

Following the catastrophic earthquake in Haiti that resulted in the deaths of at least 50,000 people, the international community has responded with an outpouring of support -- though the suffering country still desperately needs further aid. While most of us are sympathizing with the disaster victims and looking for ways to help, anti-immigrant group FAIR (the Federation for American Immigration Reform) is more concerned with getting Haitians immigrants back to their shuddering birthplace as soon as possible.

Here on the Immigrant Rights blog, we were excited to announce a victory in the Obama administration's decision to do the right thing and extend Temporary Protected Status (TPS) to all Haitian immigrants who were residing in the United States when the earthquake struck. This will give those who might otherwise face deportation 18 months to remain in the U.S. while Haiti recovers, instead of putting them in harm's way by sending them back to a country that cannot even support the people already there.

FAIR considers this "irresponsible."

FAIR's scaremongering pretends this will spark to a mass exodus of Haitians into the U.S. -- even though TPS only applies to those who were already living here at the time of the natural disaster, and Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano made clear that no one should try to enter at this time. The anti-immigrant organization prefers a delay in deportations until conditions have settled a tad (or until there's less media attention) to the security that TPS provides for Haitian residents of the United States.

But FAIR doesn't stop there. The organization is using this event to call for the withdrawal of TPS from immigrants of other nationalities, since not deporting Haitians will make America just all full up. Way to capitalize on tragedy to try to extend the hardship to people completely separate from the disaster!

Photo credit: United Nations Development Programme